2026 General Election · California

California Statewide Ballot Propositions

Fourteen measures, in ballot order — November 3, 2026
Prepared by Indivisible El Dorado | Campaign finance figures current as of August 17, 2026
At a glance: This year's ballot features bonds for housing, immunology research, and down-payment help; an extension of the high-earner income tax for schools and health care; a billionaire wealth tax (Prop 40) and two counter-measures (Props 41 & 42); plus Voter ID, campaign financing, recall reform, clinic spending, and more. Select a tab below for the full breakdown of each measure. Dollar figures are aggregated top-contributor totals from the FPPC and understate total fundraising.
Proposition 1
Authorizes Bonds for Housing Affordability Programs. Legislative Statute.
$11.25 billion affordable housing & veterans housing bond

Who Supports?

Gov. Newsom, Democratic legislators, California Apartment Association, AFL-CIO California. Committee: Yes on Prop 1 — Californians for Homes, Jobs and Affordability (top donor: Building a Better California, $1M).

$2,180,000 reported

Who Opposes?

Republican state legislators. No opposition committee has reached the $1 million FPPC reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Increased state cost of $500–$600 million annually for about 25 years to repay the bond. The $1.25B veterans portion is repaid by participating veterans, at no direct state cost.

Proposition 2
Increases State's Rainy Day Fund. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.
Raise the cap on rainy-day reserve deposits

Who Supports?

Gov. Newsom and legislative Democrats. No committee has reached the $1 million reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Who Opposes?

Legislative Republicans. No committee has reached the $1 million reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

No new tax. Requires deposits until reserves reach 20% of General Fund taxes (now 10%) and extends extra debt payments through 2040. Net effect: state budget reserves would be higher.

Proposition 3
Provides Permanent Funding for Schools and Health Care by Extending Existing Tax on High Incomes. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Make the Prop 30 (2012) high-earner income tax permanent

Who Supports?

California Teachers Association, California Federation of Teachers, California School Employees Association. Committee: Yes on Prop 3 (top donors: CTA Issues PAC $18.3M; NEA $4M).

$23,625,000 reported

Who Opposes?

California Taxpayers Association. No opposition committee has reached the $1 million reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Maintains $5–$15 billion per year in state income tax revenue that would otherwise expire in 2031. Roughly 40% flows to K-12 schools and community colleges.

Proposition 4
Repeals Prohibition Against Public Funding of Election Campaigns. Legislative Statute.
Allow public financing of state and local campaigns

Who Supports?

California Common Cause, California Clean Money Campaign, League of Women Voters of California, ACLU California Action. No committee has reached the $1 million threshold.

No reported spending

Who Opposes?

California Taxpayers Association. No committee has reached the $1 million threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Ongoing state cost of a few hundred thousand dollars per year (FPPC guidance). Creates no program itself; costs of any future state or local program would depend on later decisions and could be significant.

Proposition 5
Changes Recall Election Process for Statewide Officers. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.
Drop the "who replaces them" question from recalls

Who Supports?

League of Women Voters of California, California Common Cause, Secretary of State Shirley Weber. No committee has reached the $1 million threshold.

No reported spending

Who Opposes?

Election Integrity Project California. No committee has reached the $1 million threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Net effect unknown. In the event of a recall, state and local savings or costs of millions of dollars, depending on which office is recalled and whether a standalone special election is needed.

Proposition 37
Creates Loan Program for Middle-Income Buyers of Qualified New Homes. Initiative Statute.
$25 billion down-payment loan program for middle income buyers

Who Supports?

Building a Better California, California Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, Carpenters unions, former Sen. Bob Hertzberg. Committees: CA Homes ($12.7M) and Homeownership for Families ($7M).

$19,700,000 reported

Who Opposes?

No organized opposition identified; no committee has reached the $1 million reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

No direct state or local costs. Up to $25 billion in revenue bonds would be repaid by participating homebuyers' loan payments, not the General Fund.

Proposition 38
Authorizes Bonds for Immunology Medical Research. Initiative Statute.
$8.4 billion immunology and immunotherapy research bond

Who Supports?

Dr. Gary Michelson / Michelson Center for Public Policy ($19.2M + $10M via 501(c)(4)), Meyer Luskin ($5M), ALS Association, Alzheimer's Association, Blood Cancer United.

$34,200,000 reported

Who Opposes?

Robert Kaplan, former associate director of the National Institutes of Health. No opposition committee has reached the $1 million threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Increased state cost of $500–$600 million annually for about 20 years to repay the bond, with some or all offset if funded research generates revenue (10% of proceeds repay the state first).

Proposition 39
Prohibits Citizens from Voting Unless They Present Government-Issued Identification. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Voter ID and citizenship verification requirements

Who Supports?

Reform California (Carl DeMaio), Californians for Voter ID, Rep. Ken Calvert. Largest donor: Richard Uihlein of Wisconsin, $10.5M; also Nicole Shanahan, Douglas Leone, the Winklevoss brothers.

$15,417,979 reported

Who Opposes?

League of Women Voters of California, ACLU California Action, California Donor Table. Committee: No on 39 — Block Election Rigging (SEIU California $512,500; CTA $500,000).

$1,262,500 reported

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

State and local costs of tens of millions to low hundreds of millions of dollars each year to implement. Some offsetting savings possible from a smaller voter roll, but likely less than the costs.

Proposition 40
Imposes One-Time Tax on Certain Taxpayers. Initiative Constitutional Amendment and Statute.
One-time 5% billionaire wealth tax for health care and education

Who Supports?

SEIU–United Healthcare Workers West (sole major funder), Sen. Bernie Sanders, Teamsters California, AFSCME California.

$31,396,873 reported

Who Opposes?

Gov. Newsom, Sergey Brin, Chris Larsen / Ripple Labs, California Teachers Association, California Primary Care Association, California Medical Association. Committees: Golden State Promise ($10.45M) and No on Prop 40 ($5.2M).

$15,650,000 reported

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Temporary revenue increase of tens of billions of dollars spread over several years (90% must go to health care). Possible ongoing loss of under $1 billion per year in income tax revenue as billionaires leave or restructure. Administration costs of tens of millions per year, paid from the new revenue.

Proposition 41
Prohibits New State Taxes That Exclude Revenues from State Spending Limit. Requires Audits for New State Special Taxes. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Audits and spending-cap rules for new special taxes — a counter-measure to Prop 40

Who Supports?

Building a Better California (funded chiefly by Sergey Brin, John Doerr and Michael Moritz — $63.25M), Reform California, California Chamber of Commerce.

$63,271,808 reported

Who Opposes?

Proponents of the billionaire tax (SEIU–UHW and allies). No opposition committee has reached the $1 million reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Net fiscal effect unknown. Increased State Auditor costs for new one-time and ongoing audits, mostly paid from the special-tax revenues themselves. May limit the state's ability to exclude new special-tax spending from its spending limit.

Proposition 42
Prohibits New State Personal Property Taxes and Certain Retroactive State Taxes. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.
Ban new taxes on financial assets and personal property — a counter-measure to Prop 40

Who Supports?

Building a Better California ($64.25M), Reform California, California Chamber of Commerce, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California.

$64,272,537 reported

Who Opposes?

Proponents of the billionaire tax (SEIU–UHW and allies). No opposition committee has reached the $1 million reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

No immediate cost or revenue. Possibility that state tax revenues will not grow as much in the future, because the state loses the option of taxing asset ownership or enacting most retroactive taxes. Timing and amount unclear.

Proposition 43
Limits Voters' Ability to Raise Revenues for Local Government Services. Legislative Constitutional Amendment.
Two-thirds vote required for citizen-initiated local special taxes

Who Supports?

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, California Business Roundtable Issues PAC ($9.85M), commercial real estate interests (Kilroy Realty, Douglas Emmett).

$13,973,218 reported

Who Opposes?

No organized opposition campaign identified; no committee has reached the $1 million reporting threshold.

No reported spending

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

No state cost. Possibility that local government tax revenues will not grow as much in the future because of the higher vote threshold. Actual impact depends on future local measures.

Proposition 44
Requires Community Health Clinics Spend 90% of Revenue on Program Services. Initiative Statute.
90% patient-care spending mandate for nonprofit safety-net clinics

Who Supports?

SEIU–United Healthcare Workers West (sole major funder), through Californians for Responsible Healthcare.

$16,929,634 reported

Who Opposes?

California Primary Care Association, California Medical Association, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, California Teachers Association, and individual clinics (AltaMed $5.5M, WellSpace, Family Health Centers of San Diego).

$16,691,268 reported

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Increased state enforcement costs in the low tens of millions of dollars per year, covered by fees charged to affected clinics. Other uncertain state and local costs if clinics raise service spending or close.

Proposition 45
Modifies Environmental Review for Certain Projects. Initiative Statute.
CEQA streamlining and litigation limits for "essential" projects

Who Supports?

California Chamber of Commerce, Building a Better California ($10M), California Building Industry Association, Edison International, PG&E, Prologis.

$19,405,000 reported

Who Opposes?

Clean and Healthy California (environmental coalition, $7M), State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, Ironworkers District Council.

$11,499,715 reported

Cost to Taxpayers / Revenue (LAO)

Initial state and local costs likely in the high tens of millions annually, potentially over $100 million, partly covered by applicant and filing fees. Longer term effects uncertain and potentially larger, in either direction.

How to read the money columns. Dollar figures are aggregated top-contributor totals reported to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) for committees primarily formed to support or oppose each measure, current as of August 17, 2026. They cover only committees that have raised $1 million or more and count only contributors of $10,000 or more, so they understate total fundraising and exclude smaller committees entirely. "No reported spending" means no qualifying committee has crossed that threshold — not necessarily that no money has been raised. Final pre-election reports are filed in October; figures will rise.
Note on Props 40, 41 and 42. These three interact. If Prop 41 or Prop 42 passes with more "yes" votes than Prop 40, courts could find them in conflict and block Prop 40 from taking effect even if it also passes.
Sources. Official titles: California Secretary of State, Qualified Statewide Ballot Measures (sos.ca.gov). Fiscal estimates: Legislative Analyst's Office ballot analyses for the November 3, 2026 election (lao.ca.gov), which note that materials were subject to court ordered changes through August 10, 2026. Supporters and opponents: CalMatters 2026 Voter Guide. Campaign finance: FPPC Top 10 Contributor lists, November 2026 General Election, and CA Secretary of State Cal-Access.